diatom: cycling of silica in the marine environment

Figure 2: Cycling of silica in the marine environment. Silicon commonly occurs in nature as silicon dioxide (SiO2), also called silica. It cycles through the marine environment, entering primarily through riverine runoff. Silica is removed from the ocean by organisms such as diatoms and radiolarians that use an amorphous form of silica in their cell walls. After they die, their skeletons settle through the water column and the silica redissolves. A small number reach the ocean floor, where they either remain, forming a silaceous ooze, or dissolve and are returned to the photic zone by upwelling.